Petroleum Africa
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
White Nile has announced that it will go ahead and drill three wells within six months on a Southern Sudan oil block despite the current dispute with France’s Total over operational rights.
White Nile COO Philip Ward told Reuters that he did not believe there was any risk in moving on with operations despite the fact that the matter between his company and Total had not been officially resolved.
"Personally I don’t think it’s a risk at all, we are still operating here, the government of southern Sudan is fully supportive," Ward told Reuters in an interview, adding, “What people don’t realize is that they (Total) are actually taking the government of southern Sudan to court.”
Prior to the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between the north and south in January 2005, southern Sudanese officials (SPLM) signed a deal with White Nile to explore on Block Ba which sits within Block B awarded to Total back in 1983 by Khartoum, and renewed in December 2004. Total never developed the block because of the constraints posed by the ongoing civil war.
A commission composed of both representatives from the north and south was formed to jointly handle oil matters in Sudan and has been charged with coming to a resolution on the White Nile-Total predicament. Both the north and south governments claim they are in the right and that the commission will decide in their favor. This however remains to be seen as the commission is still not regarded as organized nor functional.
Sources within Sudapet and the Oil Ministry have told Petroleum Africa that most likely a compromise will be reached leaving both Total and White Nile with a piece of property to operate within. Whether or not this will satisfy White Nile and Total, both having maintained a confident front, is yet to be seen.
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